The Seattle Sounders will kick off their 2011-2012 CONCACAF Champions League appearance on July 26 against Panama's San Francisco FC. It will be the first leg of the two-game series between the two clubs, and the Sounders will hope to jump off to an early lead.
The Sounders' last appearance was an exhibition game against the 19-time English Premiership champions, the Manchester United Red Devils. The Sounders' starting lineup held their own against their world class opponents, but their backups struggled in the second half of the game, allowing the Red Devils to score six goals in what turned out to be an embarrassing 7-0 loss.
The Sounders will try to wipe the nasty taste of defeat off their mouths when they meet up with San Francisco FC on July 28.
"We want to keep it as tight as possible and anything can happen when we come back to CenturyLink. We'll be mindful and have a more defensive shape," said Sounders defender James Riley. "It's a home-and-away, so you don't want to go out all guns-a-blazing in the first and be susceptible to counter-attacks. If we ever needed a demo on how to counter-attack, we got seven goals worth of it to dissect."
The Sounders have had plenty of rest since their last encounter against Manchester United, and fatigue should not be a problem against San Francisco FC. With the exception of the game against the Red Devils, the Sounders' offense has been impressive in their last few outings, and they shouldn't have problems finding the back of the post against San Francisco FC.
No MLS team has been able to win the CONCACAF Champions League since the format changes in 2008, and that should serve as extra motivation for the Sounders as they prepare to kick things off.
David has been a fan of the Seattle Sounders for the past 2 years. Follow him on twitter @davidkingwriter.
Sources:
Matt Gaschk, "Going to San Francisco" SoundersFC.com
Player and game information from ESPN.com
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